We’ve got many posts about Russian army. However, someone believes that the propaganda of strong Russia on federal channels often differs radically from the actual situation. While other countries hide their real power, Russia (in the absence of any) shows off all more or less embodied projects. Just recently the invention of a new plane was accompanied by a colorful show with a fanfare – an event for the country… but seems to be a mockery for the whole world.

So let’s look through the eyes of a casual observer how looks a prestigious military unit in the small town of Gvardeisky. That is so to say the starting point of a recruit on his way to becoming a defender of the Motherland…

1. A training unit “Landysh” (“Lily of the valley”). The place from where Russia dictates its indomitable will to the rest of the world community.

2. The parade ground. Soldiers are dressed like a gang of makhnovists. Trendy camouflage loses its color after 2-3 washes and becomes like dirty khaki smeared in oil.

Well, actually that dude on “duty” – can’t be that, those people wear the old unifrom (even that color scheme is not used anymore) when they are about to do some dirty jobs, for example paint something or mess with vehicles.
They pay attention to how a soldier look a lot in the army, you can check the army’s time-table to see how much time is given for that, and they check that daily. Not to mention that you’re given a new uniform every half a year.

The Swiss army has an excellent reputation, but from the organisation point of view it’s as organized as a bunch of monkies: nobody’s ready for war, army technology is from 20 years ago, the expenses are astronomical and useless and it’s mandatory.

When was the last time the Swiss fought a war?
Germany has a free standing all volunteer army that is supplemented by conscripts and it is easy to get out of consciption.
Isreal is similar to Germany with the exception that they are constantly being attacked and terrorized by their neighbors. There every citizen should pack heat.

The officers in the white shirts are pretty young. I doubt even the major is much past 30. It’s a shame to see how these troops are equipped and housed. I can only imagine how they are fed and cared for medically. I don’t think the officers have it too good, either.

im pretty much sure that the governement did a considerable effort to upgrade & modernize those units, EVEN this one from Gvardeisky. And what i’m pretty much sure of that “someone” put in the pockets the major part of the budget they recieved from the govt. so they can’t even buy new buckets!

My dad served in Black Sea Fleet as a marine decades ago. It was time when the first US ship entered the Black sea. He described it as a total chaos. There were no ammo, all leadership members ran around in panic, braking down the doors of warehouses to find equpiment. My dad told that they were actually able to see american ship with binoculars and all they had was a bit of ammo from the shooting range and granades without fuses… It´s a bit sad that thouse soldiers today seem to live in the same awful conditions, they prolly still eating sourkraut all the time, right? But who knows, they that what doesn´t kill you, makes you stronger.

Because it was their choice to enlist and they don’t do anything to improve their condition. I’d send a letter a day if I was in these conditions, but I make sure I don’t find myself wasting tax money like the army.

Maybe the enemy will drive up to the yards where the tanks are sotred so they don’t have to drive anywhere. In a head to head battle the air conditioned pussies of the American Army would roll over the Russian Conscript Slave Army in a few hours.

American Army won’t even get to them. The air conditioned pussies can only win in case of complete aireal superiority, which they won’t get. Even old Su-27 and Mig-25 will be able take out all those F-16s and F-15s, and then T-72s and RPG-7s will put the Abrams tanks out of their misery

O.K. send all of the 10 operational interceptors you have in the air. Field the 3 battalions of operational tanks you have. Then give every man woman and child in the city an AK to walk infront of the army and draw fire.

You like to fantasize a lot, Testi. Hitler was right? Until he killed himself and was fried in a backyard? He was too arrogant. The Russians, Ukrainians, Belorrussians and all of the then soviet people proved Hitler wrong. That’s not fantasy, that’s History. It’s dangerous not to learn from it.

If I posed with the finger on the trigger I would get some ass kicking from comarades and drill seargent.
Same for my peers.
NATO army unwrited rulesbook
By the way the barracks need some better roofing

These guys see real bullets once during their term. They shoot 9 rounds to pass a test and that’s it for the most of them (at least as it used to be in the USSR). And they get plenty of ass-kicking one way or another.

Did you skip your coffee? You seem very irritable. I don’t recall the American Army ever fighting any wars for Isreal. I think Isreal has done pretty well on it’s own. Ask the Jordanians, Syrians, and Egyptians about that.

The only thing the Israelis have EVER supplied is people. ALL there equipment is foreign. Even the weapons, airplanes, etc. are developments from foreign engineering. The UZI uses german design, the Merkava uses GB armour, NATO gun design, US drivetrain.

Isreal is a top 5 exporter of weapons in the world. in a global economy who doesn’t use foreign components? Not every country can produce every component in a modern weapons system in a cost efficient way

I think they are civvies having a fun war game in an old barrack. They look happy enough. And there are too many good civvies cars. There is nothing wrong with the sleeping quarters, come on they are supposed to be soldiers, we have to rough it. Sounds to me as though some of the previous comments are whimpering about nothing. Yes their fingers are on triggers which only goes to prove they are not regulars, but civvies out for a fun and games weekend.

Really. Take away the nukes and the US could decimate the Russian militayr. The Russian military on the other hand is really only capable of holding down it’s own people or a minor scirmish like Chechnia or Georgia.

” training unit “Landysh” . The place from where Russia dictates its indomitable will to the rest of the world community” – LOL :)))
Surely the “Landysh” is the most dangerious unit of the Russian army

Would’ja quit your posturing? I served 28 years in the US military – and by the end of it, was working with the Russians in places like the Former Yugoslavia, and Rwanda. So…this “Basic Training” makes me sick. But where do you get the ‘all the recruits have their fingers on triggers” crack? – pictures 8 and 9 look good, 10 you cant tell, now, in 11, one of the four has his finger in the trigger guard and the second from the right is just asking to get a faceful of rifle butt from the guy that is third from the right. Both third from the right and the guy behind him have their fingers on the trigger guards – which is OK by Russian rules, I hear, although my DI would have smoked me ragged about it.
And – I, for one, will not disrespect the Russian or Ukrainian Soldier. I’ve watched them from across the border, and worked alongside them. I’d rather work with them. It’s their politicians that are messed up – and the US ones aren’t any better.